UWFox Events Calendar

Fascination with zombies is (unlike the zombies, of course) alive and well. Using zombie stories, such as the novel World War Z, students in certain English composition courses in fall 2014 will explore the implications of this continuing interest, to think and write about various themes and issues. A series of five lectures by University of Wisconsin Fox Valley faculty will be part of this exploration. Join us in Perry Hall for this series of talks:
Thursday October 9, 2014: Greg Peter, Associate Professor of Sociology, on the sociological implications
Monday October 13, 2014: Evan Kreider, Associate Professor of Philosophy, on the implications of zombie fiction for ethical and political philosophy.
Monday October 20, 2014: Dubear Kroening, Associate Professor of Biology, on the biological basis for the zombie phenomenon
Thursday October 30, 2014: Bill Gillard, Associate Professor of English, on classic zombie movies
In a 2003 interview, just after 28 Days Later was released, director Danny Boyle said, "A while ago on South Park there was a Barbra Streisand zombie. They've run the whole cultural arc from being scary to funny. So we had to reinvent them." The truth is that zombies in the movies have been a remarkably adaptable since their origins in Caribbean and West African folklore. Filmmakers have used zombies over the years as an all-purpose receptacle for our fears about totalitarianism, militarism, fascism, communism, racism, class conflict, 9/11, and many other social ills. As the zombie shambles toward us in dark theaters, its blasted jaw agape, eyes blank with hunger, do you see what is in its hands? A mirror! It shows us the truth about our society: who we are and what we fear. Then it shreds our intestines.
Thursday November 6, 2014: Will Curl, Senior Lecturer of English, on our culture's fascination with post-apocalyptic literature and film. This event is free and open to the public.

Search/Filter

Enter either a keyword related to the event
or enter either a full date or the
name of a month (e.g. 7/11/2012 or July)